Ferrari makes flying start to Hypercar era

Ferrari’s stunning pole position ensured the much-anticipated new era for the World Endurance Championship kicked off with a bang – even if a dominant Toyota 1-2 in the Sebring 1000 Miles carried a familiar ring.

Antonio Fuoco’s banzai qualifying lap around the hallowed Florida airfield circuit was the best possible start for the new 499P Hypercar, as a factory Ferrari team returned to the premier division of sports car racing for the first time since 1973. But Toyota’s pair of GR010 Hybrids predictably held the upper hand in the race as strategy, procedural and driver errors cost the AF Corse-run Ferraris. Still, the pole-winning No50 entry fended off the lone Chip Ganassi-run Cadillac V-Series.R to claim a debut podium, even if it did finish two laps down on Toyota Gazoo Racing’s accomplished duo.

“We surpassed the goals we had set ourselves, considering that we wanted a podium finish, and to this we added a splendid pole position,” said Antonello Coletta, the satisfied head of Ferrari’s Attivita Sportive GT department. “We are happy and at the same time aware that we have a long way to go.” The second Ferrari only finished 15th overall after Alessandro Pier Guidi sustained suspension damage in a collision with two GTE Am cars.

Toyota’s performance represented a form of vindication for the Japanese manufacturer, which faced only minimal opposition towards the end of the previous LMP1 era and over the course of the first two seasons of the LMH rulebook. As ever, the No7 and No8 crews were equally matched, the former gaining the crucial edge this time as Britain’s Mike Conway, Toyota’s player-manager Kamui Kobayashi and Argentinian José Maria López stood on the podium’s top step at the end of the eight-hour race. The victory was especially sweet for López, who crashed heavily at Sebring last year, went off in practice this time and is said to have only kept his 2023 drive because Dutchman Nyck de Vries joined AlphaTauri in Formula 1.

Porsche’s pair of Penske-run 963 LMDh cars finished fifth and sixth, four laps down on the winning Toyotas after showing only intermittent pace. But the German giant looks in far better shape than Peugeot, which struggled with an alarming lack of both speed and reliability over Sebring’s notorious bumps with its rear wingless 9X8.

Two privateer entries added to the LMH diversity. Glickenhaus inevitably proved race-rusty in the 007 LMH’s first appearance since July last year, while the new Vanwall made it to the finish despite delays, including a stop for repairs after a rear suspension problem spun Jacques Villeneuve off at the final corner. The WEC returns to Europe next for a round at the Algarve circuit in Portimão on April 16